Fewer than half of Californians got their health insurance through their employers last year. That's according to a new study from UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research.

The study found more than 1.2 million people lost their employer provided health benefits between 2009 and 2011. Shana Lavarreda, the study's lead author, says it's fallout from the recession.
 
"Employers are saying it just costs too much at this point for them to do it," Lavarreda said, "and even people with jobs are getting jobs that don’t have health benefits attached."

About 19 percent of the state’s residents are enrolled in government health insurance programs for low-income people. UCLA researchers say more people should be able to get coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act, when Medi-Cal expands and health insurance exchanges are created.